| Trammel v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued October 29–30, 1979 Decided February 27, 1980 | |
| Full case name | Trammel v. United States |
| Citations | 445 U.S. 40 (more) 100 S. Ct. 906; 63 L. Ed. 2d 186; 1980 U.S. LEXIS 84; 5 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. (Callaghan) 737 |
| Holding | |
| The Court modified the Hawkins rule so that the witness-spouse alone has a privilege to refuse to testify adversely; the witness may be neither compelled to testify nor foreclosed from testifying. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Burger, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens |
| Concurrence | Stewart |
Trammel v. United States, 445 U.S. 40 (1980), is a United States Supreme Court case involving the spousal privilege and its application in the law of evidence. In it, the Court held that the witness-spouse alone has a privilege to refuse to testify adversely; the witness may be neither compelled to testify nor foreclosed from testifying.
In it, the court upheld the conviction of the Petitioner. Prior to presenting his case before the Supreme Court, the Petitioner was convicted of illegally smuggling heroin into the United States and conspiracy to import, based upon the testimony of his wife. The Petitioner then appealed, claiming that the admission of the adverse testimony of his wife, over his objection, contravened prior precedent and therefore constituted reversible error.
The court rejected both traditional and contemporary justifications for the traditional scope of the privilege.
In so ruling, the court held that a witness-spouse alone has a privilege to refuse to testify adversely; the witness may be neither compelled to testify nor foreclosed from testifying.